Vol. 1, Issue 12 - Interview with Danior Snyder
A new approach to our newsletter, and highlighting the challenges of a fan with Leber’s congenital amaurosis
When I started this newsletter on February 6th 2023, I stated that I was willing to listen and tweak the newsletter as we started to grow. After three months of listening to feedback from our growing audience, I have decided to change how content will be shared. Until now, we would normally give a link directly to the content for subscribers to click, and keep the emails we sent out to them short. We will be adjusting the newsletter as follows:
The featured content will be included within each email
The newsletter will be more structured to include news, featured content and a mailbag section (coming soon)
A copy of each featured article will still be available online in the relevant sections
I think this is a good compromise, and I will test the waters to see how it's received.
News
We were saddened to hear the news regarding James Carter Cathcart, a voice actor who is best known for voicing the character of Gary Oak in the original Pokémon anime, is retiring due to throat cancer. He played Gary from the very first episode of the Pokémon anime and went on to voice several other characters, most notably Professor Oak, as well as Team Rocket’s James and Meowth since Pokémon USA took over the dubbing rights. On behalf of the Johto Times, we send our best wishes to Mr. Cathcart and his family during this challenging time.
Feature: Interview with Danior Snyder
Today’s feature focuses on an important topic that I hope to raise awareness of for our readers. Despite the love we have for Pokémon, not all fans have the same opportunities and equal access to the franchise, through no fault of their own. In this issue of the Johto Times, I am honoured to be highlighting the experiences of my friend Danior Snyder, in an interview we put together to discuss his condition: Leber’s Congenital Amaurosis (LCA).
According to UK Charity ‘Fight for Sight’, LCA is a rare eye condition that affects around two or three of every 100,000 newborns. Danior shares how LCA impacts his life as a Pokémon fan and the challenges he faces, and highlights suggestions on what improvements and changes Nintendo could make in their consoles to help make the games more accessible for people like him.
Danior, we’ve been friends for many years, so it’s a pleasure to interview you for the Johto Times. Can you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Danior:
My name is Danior, and I am an avid fan of games. I have a rare eye condition called Leber’s congenital amaurosis that prevents me from experiencing the world of gaming quite like others, but this doesn't stop me from trying.
Could you please explain how Leber’s congenital amaurosis impacts your daily life?
Danior:
It impacts my daily life rather a lot, making some of the daily activities others find easy quite difficult. I find myself needing help with reading things that do not have what is called a screen reader available, and that is just one thing that has been done to adjust.
I know that you’re a huge fan of Pokémon, and have told me personally about the many different titles you’ve tried to play over the years. Could you help our readers understand what it’s like to experience Pokémon as an individual with LCA?
Danior:
It is simultaneously fun and discouraging. It is not the most accessible set of games, and unfortunately, it is getting a little worse with time. Where others have their sense of sight to rely on, I need my ears more than ever, and this prevents me from listening to the music of the series as much. However, in a few previous titles in the series, I have been able to use a website to know roughly where I needed to go, and went there. I couldn't experience the story, because I couldn't see the text, but I made progress.
What has been your experience playing Pokémon titles on official hardware?
Danior:
My experience has been limited up until very recently, but I recently got a capture card, allowing me to hook my Switch up to my laptop, and it has helped the experience become even better.
Now for some quick fire questions! With the release of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, there are now 1008 Pokémon. Which one is your favourite, and why?
Danior:
Believe it or not, Kirlia. I love Ralts, but I actually think Kirlia is the favorite because of something silly: I love to just be curled up with a nice book, and after elaborating on the Pokemon a little more, from its Pokedex entry, this would be an amazing Pokemon to have by my side. I am an empath, and this whole line is amazing to me.
Which Pokémon title is your favourite?
Danior:
I'd have to say, probably, Pokemon Black/White. It is when I was truly getting into the feel for Pokemon, and while it still took me quite some time to experience the story itself, Unova has been my generation for years now.
In your opinion, what could companies like Nintendo do to make their games more accessible to people with vision impairments or low vision?
Danior:
First step: Add text-to-speech to their systems. Sony and Microsoft have a screen reader built into their consoles, and Nintendo does not. Aside from this, sound cues, and the capability to read the text, whether through a full-voice cast of the characters, or some other means. There are so many steps to making a game accessible, and while I know a bit of what I want, I also know it is a lot to ask for. But one of these years, I would love to be able to play games without asking for help in the capacity I require now. If I fail, I'd like it to be from lack of skill, not because of lack of sight.
Thanks for taking the time to speak to us Danior! Do you have any closing remarks?
Danior:
Actually, yes. Simply put: Despite the disability, I really do enjoy the games, and even if it is difficult to accomplish, I will, one day, join so many others in the Pokemon League Halls of Fame. I will join other avid trainers, in all regions, in completing the Gym Challenge, and the Pokedex. Some day. I sincerely appreciate all the help and support I have been given thus far in the pursuit of that goal. I am so happy to have the friends I do, and appreciate the support of the community!
I want to express my thanks to Danior for agreeing to this interview with me. If our readers would like to learn more about his impairment, you can learn more from the Fight For Sight website by following this link.
Interview conducted on February 7th 2023
Interview published on April 27th 2023
Mailbag
We are now taking contributions to our mailbag! If you have a Pokémon-related question, artwork, short poem, collection or anything you think might be great to feature in the Johto Times newsletter, be sure to contact us! Once we have collected a few of them together, we will share them in our newsletter, and in a dedicated mailbag section which can be found here.